Transformable article of clothing, such as trousers, jacket, glove

ABSTRACT

A transformable article of clothing having a tubular element and an extensible tubular member to provide for a lengthening effect of the tubular element; the extensible tubular member is fixed to the interior of the tubular element so as to extend freely from the inside of the tubular element and includes three sleeves joined together. One sleeve is an upper sleeve which is joined to a lower sleeve through an intermediate sleeve by a first rapid-fastening device. The intermediate sleeve includes two tubular sections joined to each other in a separable manner by a second rapid-fastening device with one section being joind to the lower sleeve, the second section being joined to the upper sleeve, so that the lower sleeve can be changed in color, removed, lengthened or shortened.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a transformable article of clothing,such as trouser, jacket, glove, etc.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Transformable articles of clothing are already known, which may inparticular be lengthend to adapt to various conditions of use or togrowth of the wearer. Such a transformable article is for exampledescribed in German Patent No. DE-A-2 153 187. In this Patent, it isindicated that a sleeve of a coat may comprise two parts joined to eachother via a zipper and an inner linking piece which may be unfolded inorder to show a reflecting element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements made to this type ofarticle for the purpose of increasing the domains of use of the articleand of altering its appearance very substantially in accordance with thedesirata of the wearer of the article of clothing.

To that end, this transformable article of clothing, such as trouser,jacket, etc., comprises a tubular element such as a trouser leg, sleeve,terminating in an opening, comprises, inside the end part of the tubularelement which is close to its opening, an extensible tubular membercomprising an upper, a lower and an intermediate sleeve member, theupper sleeve member being fixed to the interior of the outer tubularelement, particularly by sewing, solely along an upper edge of the uppersleeve member so that the tubular member extends freely from the insideof the tubular element and with a lower edge of the lower sleeve memberprojecting outside of the tubular element, depending, or course, on thelength of the tubular member, and the three sleeves are joined together,by a first rapid-fastening device, such as a zipper. The intermediatesleeve itself comprises two tubular sections joined to each other in aseparable manner by a second rapid-fastening device, such as a zipper,the first section of the intermediate sleeve having an upper edge joinedto a lower edge of the upper sleeve whilst the second section of theintermediate sleeve has a lower edge joined to an upper edge of thelower sleeve,

The extensible tubular member of the transformable article of clothingaccording to the invention may thus be in two different states, namely anon-extended state in which the extensible tubular member having itssmallest length, projects slightly from the opening of the outer tubularelement, and a lengthened or extended state in which the lower sleeveprojects virtually completely outside of the tubular element. In theextended or lengthened state, the tubular element gives the appearanceof being extended over a certain length by the lower sleeve whichextends below the bottom edge of the tubular element and may present anappearance and/or different colour to give the assembly of the articleof clothing a different appearance.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter byway of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation, with parts torn away, of a trouser legtransformable according to the invention, in the non-extended state.

FIG. 2 is a view in section taken along line II--II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial view in vertical section, on a larger scale, of thetrouser leg, in the non-extended state.

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation of the trouser leg in the lengthened statewith parts removed or torn away.

FIG. 5 is a view in vertical section taken along line V--V of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is another view in elevation, with parts torn away, of thetrouser leg, illustrating the replacement of the outer sleeve of theextensible tubular element.

In the drawings, there is shown a tubular element, or member 1 of atransformable article of clothing constituted, in the present case, bytrouser. In this case, the tubular element or member 1 constitutes orexemplities a trouser leg, and the trouser leg has a length determinedonce and for all during manufacture thereof.

According to the invention, the trouser leg 1 comprises, inside its endpart close to its lower opening, an extensible tubular element 2 whichis constitute by three tubular sections or sleeves, or a member composedof three layers. The first tubular section or sleeve is an upper sleeve3, the second tubular section or sleeve is a lower sleeve 4, and thethird tubular section or sleeve is an intermediate sleeve 5. The uppersleeve 3 is completely housed inside the trouser leg 1 and upper sleeve3 at the upper edge thereof is joined, along its upper edge to theinside of trouser leg 1, by a seam 6. Consequently, the assembly of theextensible tubular element 2 and upper sleeve 3 hang freely inside thetrouser leg 1, from the upper edge of upper sleeve 3 joined by the seam6. Tubular element 2 has an extended state and a non-extended state. Thestate of tubular element 2 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 is thenon-extended state and, it that case, the lower sleeve 4 projectsslightly below the bottom portion of trouser leg 1, so that the lowerend part of lower sleeve 4 is below the lower opening of the trouser leg1.

In the non-lengthened or non-extended state shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, thelower edge of the upper sleeve 3 and the upper edge of the lower sleeve4 are joined together by means of a first rapid-fastening device 7 whichmay advantageously be constituted by a zipper having two parts 7a and 7beach having teeth which mesh together when the zipper is closed andwhich are separated when the zipper is opened. The two parts 7a, 7b ofthis zipper are respectively sewn to the two edges of the two sleeves 3,4 having to be joined together. Edge 7a of zipper 7 is connected with alower edge or margin portion of upper sleeve 3 which is the other edgeof upper sleeve 3 and is the edge that is sewn to trouser leg 1. Edge 7aof zipper 7 is also connected with an upper edge of the intermediatesleeve 5, and the upper edge of intermediate sleeve 5, the lower edge ofupper sleeve 3 and edge 7a of zipper 7 form one connector. Anotherconnector is formed by the other edge 7b of zipper 7, a lower edge ofintermediate sleeve 5, and an upper edge of lower sleeve 4; the otheredge 7b, the lower edge of intermediate sleeve 5 and the upper edge oflower sleeve 4 are connected together as a unit to form the otherconnector. The lower edge of lower sleeve 4 is opposite to the upperedge or upper margin of lower sleeve 4, and it is the lower edge oflower sleeve 4 which extends outside of and below the trouser leg 1. Theupper and lower edges of the intermediate sleeve 5 are also sewn, to theparts 7a, 7b of the zipper 7. More particularly, the upper edge of theintermediate sleeve 5 is sewn to the upper part 7a of the zipper 7,jointly with the lower edge of the upper sleeve 3. In the same way, thelower edge of the intermediate sleeve 5 is sewn to the lower part 7b ofthe zipper 7, jointly with the upper edge of the lower sleeve 4. In thenon-lengthened state, the upper and lower edges of the intermediatesleeve 5 are therefore fastened at the location of the zipper 7 thenclosed, so that the intermediate sleeve 5 is folded on itself andpresents a cross section in the form of a closed loop.

The intermediate sleeve 5 is constituted by two sections, upper 5a andlower 5b which are joined together by a second rapid-fastening device 8such as a zipper.

When considering the specific embodiment in which the intermediatesleeve 5 is formed of two sections connected together by rapid-fasteningdevice 8, upper section 5a is the section releasably connected withupper sleeve 3. Specifically, the upper edge of intermediate section 5is also the upper edge of the upper section 5a which is connected withupper part 7a of zipper 7, and the lower edge of intermediate section 5is also the lower edge of lower section 5b which is connected with lowerpart 7b of zipper 7 which is connected with the upper edge of lowersleeve 4.

The intermediate sleeve 5, when divided into upper section 5a and lowersection 5b, each forms two separate tubular elements with marginaledges. Specifically, upper section 5a includes an upper edge and a loweredge, the upper edge of upper section 5a being the same as the upperedge of section 5, and the lower edge forms a first joinder member tocooperate with zipper 8. The lower section 5b also includes a lower edgeand an upper edge. The lower edge of lower section 5b is the same as thelower edge of intermediate section 5 joined with the upper edge of lowersection 4, and the upper edge of section 5b is a second joinder memberto cooperate with zipper 8 and in a closed or zippered condition ofzipper 8 is joined to the lower edge of section 5a and in the open orunzippered condition of zipper 8 is separated from section 5a.

The rapid-fastening device 8 may also be considered to be an innertubular element changer and form first and second intermediate sleeveconnectors for connecting the sections 5a and 5b together to form theintermediate sleeve 5 as a unit. More particularly, the lower edge ofthe upper section 5a of sleeve 5 is joined to the upper part 8a of thezipper 8, whilst the upper edge of the lower section 5b of the sleeve 5is joined to the lower part 8b of the zipper 8.

The trouser leg 1 as thus adapted according to the invention may easilybe transformed by passing from the non-lengthened state or non-extendedstate shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 into the lengthened state or extended shownin FIGS. 4 to 6. In the non-lengthened state, the lower sleeve 4 of theextensible tubular element 2 which is housed inside the trouser leg 1,projects slightly below the latter, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and doesnot substantially alter the appearance of the trouser leg 1. In order totransform the appearance of the trouser leg 1 by lengthening it, itsuffices to open the first zipper 7 so as totally to separate the twoparts 7a, 7b of this zipper 7 from each other. Consequently, theintermediate sleeve 5 unfolds vertically, this provoking an extension ofthe extensible tubular element 2 and allowing the lower sleeve 4 toextend further below the bottom edge of trouser leg 1. In the lengthenedstate as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the lower sleeve 4 projects virtuallycompletely below the opening of the trouser leg 1. The lower sleeve 4 isstill joined to the lower section 5b of the intermediate sleeve 5, beingsewn, jointly with the latter, with the part 7b of the zipper 7. Thetrouser leg as thus transformable lends itself easily to a modificationof its appearance in the lower part. In fact, it suffices and it ispossible to replace the lower sleeve 4 with another lower sleeve 4 madein the same manner and presenting an appearance and/or different colour.For this replacement, it suffices to open the second zipper 8, so as toseparate these two parts 8a, 8b from each other as shown in FIG. 6 andto separate sections 5a and 5b of intermediate sleeve 5. The lower outersleeve 4 and a portion of intermediate sleeve 5, the lower section 5b ofintermediate sleeve 5 may then be totally detached and replaced byanother sleeve to form the lower sleeve 4, provided in the same mannerwith a lower section 5b and a zipper part 8b which allows connectionwith the other part 8a which, itself, has remained in place inside thetrouser leg 1.

I claim:
 1. A transformable article of clothing having an outer tubularelement terminating in an opening, comprising:a tubular memberpositioned within said tubular element and comprising an upper sleevemember, a lower sleeve member and an intermediate sleeve member; meansfor connecting said tubular member to said tubular element so that saidtubular member extends freely from an outer edge of said tubularelement; said upper sleeve member having an upper edge and a lower edgepositioned within an end part of said tubular element, and said couplingmeans connecting said upper edge of said upper sleeve to an innerportion of said tubular element; said lower sleeve member having anupper edge and a lower edge, and said intermediate sleeve member havingan upper edge and a lower edge; means for coupling said sleeve memberstogether, said coupling means including a first rapid-fastening devicecomprising first and second edge connections, first means for joiningsaid first edge connector, said lower edge of said upper sleeve and saidupper edge of said intermediate sleeve together and forming a firstconnection member, and second means for joining said second edgeconnector, said upper edge of said lower sleeve and said lower edge ofsaid intermediate sleeve together and forming a second connectionmember, and means for connecting and disconnecting said first and saidsecond connection members to each other and from each other,respectively to increase and descrease the length of said tubularmember; and connection means comprising a second rapid-fastening devicecomprising first and second edge connectors and means for connectingsaid last-mentioned edge connectors together; said intermediate sleevemember comprising an upper tubular section and a lower tubular section,said upper tubular section including a lower edge and said upper edge ofsaid intermediate sleeve member, and said lower tubular sectionincluding an upper edge and said lower edge of said intermediate sleevemember; and means joining the first edge connector of said secondrapid-fastening device and the lower edge of said upper tubular sectiontogether to form a first intermediate sleeve connector, means joiningthe second edge of said second rapid-fastening device and the upper edgeof said lower tubular section together to form a second intermediatesleeve connector, and said means for connecting the first and the secondedge connectors of said second rapid-fastening device together includingmeans for connecting and disconnecting said first intermediate sleeveconnector and said second intermediate sleeve connector for connectingsaid upper and said lower tubular sections to each other and separatingthem from each other, respectively.
 2. The article of clothing accordingto claim 1, wherein the two edges of said intermediate sleeve arerespectively sewn, jointly with the edges of said upper and said lowersleeves, to said first and said second edge connectors.
 3. The articleof clothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for connectingsaid tubular member to said tubular element includes seam means forconnecting the upper edge of said upper sleeve to said tubular element.4. The article of clothing as claimed in claim 3, wherein said seammeans connects said upper edge of said upper sleeve to said tubularelement.
 5. The article of clothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidfirst and second joining means includes seam means.
 6. The article ofclothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first rapid-fasteningdevice includes a zipper.
 7. The article of clothing as claimed in claim1, wherein said second rapid-fastening device includes a zipper.
 8. Thearticle of clothing as claimed in claim 6, wherein said secondrapid-fastening device includes a zipper.
 9. The article of clothing asclaimed in claim 8, wherein said means for connecting said tubularmember to said tubular element includes seam means for connecting theupper edge of said upper sleeve to said tubular element.
 10. The articleof clothing as claimed in claim 5, wherein said sewing means connectssaid upper edge of said upper sleeve to said tubular element.
 11. Thearticle of clothing according to claim 1, wherein the lower edge of saidupper sleeve member and the upper edge of said intermediate sleevemember are sewn together.
 12. The article of clothing according to claim1, wherein the lower edge of said intermediate sleeve member and theupper edge of said lower sleeve member are sewn together.
 13. Thearticle of clothing according to claim 3, wherein the lower edge of saidupper sleeve member and the upper edge of said intermediate sleevemember are sewn together.
 14. The article of clothing according to claim3, wherein the lower edge of said intermediate sleeve member and theupper edge of said lower sleeve member are sewn together.
 15. Thearticle of clothing according to claim 13, wherein the lower edge ofsaid intermediate sleeve member and the upper edge of said lower sleevemember are sewn together.
 16. The article of clothing according to claim1, wherein said coupling means includes sewing along the upper edge ofsaid upper sleeve for fixing said tubular member interiorly of saidtubular element.